How Kaavya got caught, internalized apologies and learnt a lesson..

It is amusing to watch Kaavya Viswanathan's trials and tribulations in Indian and Western media. I say amusing not because I am happy about her fall but actually amused to read her attempt at different kinds of apologies and the indecisiveness she portrays to do the 'right' thing. I am not going to tell that she should be trashed for copying passages but at least a honest and straight forward apology would have at least made her look honest. For someone who feigns interest in the likes of Bronte and Ishiguro(now I have my doubts about that!), it may be hard to admit that she copied stuff from chick-lit. Lack of integrity is what is bothering about all this mess thats going on but as someone said Kaavya will learn an important lesson through this, that any publicity helps in selling books and so I dont think she will be too bothered about it.

Gone with the wind..

Just finished reading 'Gone with the wind' and 'Ratham ore niram'. I bought 'Gone with the wind' back in 1998 but never got to read it because the size of it was frightening. But after I watched the movie sometime back, decided to read it in full. And what a story it is. It does not pretend to preach anything(which is important to me!) and looks squarly at life without any frills to go along with it. Scarlett is flighty, brave, does not have moral values, does what she thinks as right and is terribly opinionated. But the spirit with which she makes a life for herself in the post-war Georgia is amazing. Rhett is just as vile, oppurtunistic and speaks what he thinks. But you end up liking him anyway. Somehow, whenever I was reading about Rhett, the image of Clark Gable standing in the bottom of the stairs came repeatedly and it tells something about the film. Since I lived for sometime in most of the places and visited everyone of the places add to the charm (Marietta, Jonesboro, Peachtree boulevard, Charleston, Decautur and Atlanta etc!).

"Ratham Ore Niram' by Sujatha is about the First war of independance or the sepoy mutiny of 1857. It tells a simple story but the backdrop is the Kanpur rebellion lead by Nana Sahib and Tantiya Thope. The Ghatt massacre and the Bibigar massacre form the backdrop of the story and it is interesting to note that Sujata takes a center position regards to the atrocities of the British and the sepoys. He criticizes both and blames none. That was not so fair anyway. There was a cause and the effect was savagery. But it was interesting to read a historical novel which was more honest to history than reading about the slender waists of the heroine and the swahbuckling sword-plays of the hero.

Gully Cricket..

The summer holidays are here and Sibi is on a tour to his grandmas. He is talking like there is no tomorrow and its a pleasure to hear him admonish me for saying something a little too loudly. He tells me not to shout and say things calmly as otherwise, his mom will feel upset. How cute is that!!. So he keeps my father and mother busy and we try hard to keep him busy.

Three days in Madurai went fast and the get-together of our families (I mean, my father and his brothers families along with all cousins) invoked all sorts of pleasant memories and especially my elder cousins who still treat me like a little brother. I was thinking of the 'gully cricket' we used to play in the narrow plot of land in front of my paternal grandma's house. It used to be a small plot with barely place for all of us to field, bowl and bat. But anyway, we used to play. This is sometime in the 1987-1990 timeline. I was the one guy who couldn't bat, bowl or field. But I was included in the teams so that there are equal number of people on either side. Sometimes, the chittappas and periappas join in and it will be a riot before the game ends. Since 'every dog had its own day', I had my days when I took 3 wickets(out of 5 players!) or hit some 15-20 runs. But it happened rarely. We used to play till it becomes night and mom and everyone calls for dinner. It means returning home after the dinner and followed by the dreaded monday. Even though I felt bad over everyone fussing over whose team my brother should be playing in(he bats/bowls excellently!!) and I usually got to a team short of one player. But the fact is that it created a camaraderie which exists even today between us. And ofcourse, the memories are priceless.

Its amazing how the little things you did makes you happy even after years. Or how little you realize the love of people you take for granted (my periamma brought filter to make coffee yesterday for me because I like the bitter coffee she makes!!). Its just we have become older but the bonds that ties us are still stronger..

கீழடி அருங்காட்சியகம்.

உலகம் முழுவதும் இருக்கும் பல அருங்காட்சியகங்களுக்கு சென்றிருக்கிறேன். நியூ யார்க், கத்தார், துபாய், வாஷிங்டன், லாஸ் ஏஞ்சல்ஸ் போன்ற நகரங்களின...